HarvardDivestment_Letter_8Jul2021

A letter from a Stockholm Environment Institute scientist to the Massachusetts Attorney General arguing that Harvard's fossil fuel investments are misaligned with the Paris Agreement and contribute to global health and environmental crises.

• To limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C, the production and use of coal, oil, and gas must begin to decline as soon as possible and no later than 2030. Specifically, to limit warming to 1.5°C, global coal production must decrease by approximately 70%, while oil and gas production must each decrease by about 30% by 2030.
• Current economic trends and a lack of new policy interventions result in fossil fuel production projections that far exceed Paris Agreement goals. By 2030, production of coal, oil, and gas is projected to be 200%, 64%, and 69% higher, respectively, than levels consistent with a 1.5°C-warming pathway.
• Supply-side actions, including fossil fuel divestment, are beneficial because they help prevent 'carbon lock-in'—where carbon-intensive systems persist and block alternatives—limit financial risks associated with stranded assets, and encourage sociopolitical coherence for the energy transition.
• Fossil fuel combustion and production cause significant global health damage. Burning fossil fuels is estimated to cause approximately 9 million premature deaths annually worldwide, including over 350,000 in the US. Additionally, traffic pollution is linked to 4 million new pediatric asthma cases globally each year.
• Beyond climate change, fossil fuel extraction is linked to local environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, human rights violations, and specific health issues such as asthma exacerbation, higher hospitalization rates, and adverse birth outcomes.

APA

Achakulwisut, P. P. (2021). HarvardDivestment_Letter_8Jul2021. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/letter-to-ag-healey-8-jul-2021.pdf

Chicago

Achakulwisut, Ploy Pattanun. HarvardDivestment_Letter_8Jul2021. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2021. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/letter-to-ag-healey-8-jul-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Achakulwisut |first1=Ploy Pattanun |title=HarvardDivestment_Letter_8Jul2021 |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=8 July 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/letter-to-ag-healey-8-jul-2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{achakulwisut2021harvarddivestmentletter8jul2021, author = {Achakulwisut, Ploy Pattanun}, title = {{HarvardDivestment\_Letter\_8Jul2021}}, publisher = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/letter-to-ag-healey-8-jul-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }